AI’s ability to boost creativity and improve efficiency is redefining the advertising landscape, allowing brands to develop more personalized and effective campaigns. Today, Cannes Lions remains a crucial indicator of where the industry is headed.
In this context, Federico Russi, CEO of Leo Burnett México, spoke with Expansion about the trends and changes expected at this year’s event. Russi worked at Publicis Groupe, where she held the positions of Chief Creative Officer for both Leo Burnett and the entire group in Mexico.
He has been recognized in the industry, with more than 200 awards at festivals such as Cannes Lions, D&AD, Clio, FIAP, El Sol, Ojo de Iberoamérica, Effie, Effie LatAm, One Show, LIA, Wave Rio and local festivals in Brazil, Mexico , Ecuador, Guatemala and Uruguay. His perspective offers insight into how the adoption of new technologies and evolving consumer expectations are shaping the future of advertising.
Expansion (E): What are the main trends that will be seen at the Cannes Lions awards show this year and how do you think they reflect the changes in advertising?
Federico Russi (FR): Cannes Lions is one of the most important awards in the advertising industry, which has maintained growth that responds to market trends. If we visualize this meeting as a showcase, in it we will find the exhibition of pieces with technology and data tying two fundamental aspects: speed of adoption and technological speed.
The key aspect of these trends is the constant search to surprise in the way we do things differently, to impact business transformation and elevate the value of the creative product delivered, by understanding what moves people and how to connect. with them.
E: What motivated the inclusion of the “Luxury” category at Cannes Lions and what type of campaigns or projects will be competing in this new section?
FR: Luxury is an industry that has remained innovative in all senses, such as commercial, product design and communication. The expansion of the concept of luxury in various categories has allowed the addition of consumers and, therefore, the need to achieve campaigns that match demand. This genius of opening a “Luxury & Lifestyle” category gives strong recognition to this multi-million dollar industry and allows all stakeholders provide campaigns, whose differential is that they ground the spirit of the segment through experiences, where its evolution is reflected.
E: Verification of campaigns to certify whether they were created with AI is a novelty. How does this verification process work and what impact will it have on registrations?
FR: The use of Artificial Intelligence has become increasingly more organic in advertising campaigns.
If you see the result of combining AI with creativity, you discover that it is a tool that allows you to enhance the idea of an advertising campaign, since the processes within an agency are aligned with this level of delivery and a business improvement that not only transforms communication, It is taking the challenging out of environments, with the superior creative products being achieved.
E: With the increasing incorporation of AI in the creation of advertising campaigns, how do you think this will affect creativity and originality in the industry?
FR: The trends, categories that open the gap for the future of the industry and the areas of opportunity that are being unleashed in the market are impacted by technological evolution. Faced with this transformation, changes not only occur in the creative area, but also in the social, economic or legislative area, where, for example, the use of these innovations is regulated.
As agencies, we have to guarantee its use with talent that has the capacity to achieve it, being curious, without fear of doing things differently and with the goal of evolving the search to do things better and better.
E: Looking to the future, what are your expectations regarding the evolution of Cannes Lions and how do you anticipate that they will continue to adapt to technological innovations and market demands?
FR: Cannes Lions is more than awards ceremonies, conferences or simple meetings with brands through its activations; It is a space to exchange ideas and something so colloquial ends up being the enriching formula of each edition.
The future of the festival is written in each of its meetings, where we glimpse how we can be better the following year, what elements of effectiveness allow us to connect brands with people and how it has to adapt to creativity, with which the transformation of the industry is promoted.
